1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a method and device for producing ice droplets on demand in a refrigerator ice/water dispenser.
2. Description of the Related Art
Door mounted ice/water dispensing systems are widely known in the art of refrigerators. Depending upon a particular refrigerator model, the dispensing systems are available with a variety of options. For example, top mount and bottom mount refrigerators typically only include a water dispensing option, while side-by-side models often include both water and ice dispensing options. The dispensing system will generally include a switch that is activated by a glass or other beverage holder to initiate dispensing of either water or ice. Ice dispensing may also include options for dispensing crushed and/or cubed ice.
Traditionally, ice dispensing systems manufacture ice cubes in a cubed shape. In an attempt to divert from the traditional shape, some ice dispensing systems are able to dispense ice shaped in the form of a disk or a ball. However, these ice dispensing systems require an ice mold and a container to hold ice in order to provide ice on-demand.
Furthermore, prior ice dispensing systems have attempted to dispense ice in different sizes. These attempts have included shavers, crushers and choppers that break the ice cube, disk or ball into smaller pieces. However, like an ice mold and an ice container used in prior ice dispensing systems, the choppers and shavers take up space in a refrigerator, eliminating valuable storage area.
Based on the above, there exists a need for a water and ice dispensing system in a refrigerator that is compact, accommodates ice and water on-demand and provides more storage space.